A Day in the life of a Pest Control Technician

A day in the work of a pest control technician is a risky, demanding, dangerous, dirty job that is subject to all kinds of environments. You never know what you’re going to find.

The nature of the job may lead you crawling under a home searching for termites or attics to find rats, spiders, raccoons or whatever else may lurk in dark, dirty, dusty reclusive places; to basements filled with moisture and mold. Not to mention the challenge of homes infested withfleas, cockroaches or our most recent pest, bed bugs.DemandsMost days are long and demanding as you find yourself squeezing into tight crawl spaces under a building, climbing a ladder to get to a roof or crouching through loose floorboards in attics hoping not to fall through.It’s busy from the moment you take your first sip of coffee till the moment you lock the door behind you. With a list of chores as long as your arm, the day starts out with a thorough check of your vehicle to make sure it is fully stocked with whatever you will need to complete your particular work assignments for the day. Whether it is rats, cats or elephants, you need a full arsenal and variety of chemicals and tools for each designated job.Although most jobs are scheduled contracts for regular pest control maintenance within routes, an occasional unanticipated urgent situation or threat (wild animals, swarms of yellow jackets, bees, red ants, rodents), from a new customer can send you in another direction quickly. It’s often difficult to explain to a loyal customer that their appointment has just been adjusted from their scheduled time because of an emergency “bug” situation.RisksDressed in protective equipment, you become proficient as being a “mixologist” with chemicals. You need to be familiar with compounds, concentrations, safe handling techniques, preparation of the work site and know all the proper procedures for possible spills and cleanup. You’re subject to inhaling particles when mixing dry formulas and when using liquids, absorbing pesticides through your skin. Maintaining and rotating stock to avoid using degraded product is just another part of the job along with cleaning and maintaining equipment at the end of the day.You always have to be conscience of environmental conditions when applying outside and need to anticipate drying time for insides so that families, children or pets do not walk in the door during or right after a treatment. Therefore, as you can see, being a pest technician is not a no-brainer as many people think.Providing a Good Quality of LifePest techs deal with emotional clients where they have to calm their fears and become their temporary “shrink”. You have to know the extent of the infestation you are about to treat as well as the life cycle of the insect so that you can explain the need for follow-up treatments to kill all life stages if necessary.The list of responsibilities, actions and conditions in which you work are beyond a baseboard jockey mentality. People will never understand the value and the important role pest techs play in the scope of it all.Our most recent challenge is bed bugs. One would think that a simple spraying would rid bed bugs like other pests but unfortunately, they present a bigger challenge that entails an abundance of education and well thought out techniques in order to combat the problem and eliminate every single bed bug. Solving each unique problem has a significant impact on the residents’ quality of life and it takes a well-trained, experienced pest control individual to solve a bed bug problem to give them peace of mind.Old world values…New age technology

Barrier Pest Control is a family owned and operated company, with over 30 years of experience. 905-252-PEST (7378)Email: barrierpestco@gmail.com